Why Jumping On Your Bed Is a No-No

March 19, 2011

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Jumping on your bed is fun. Admit it!

Remember those times when you were a kid, having a great time jumping up and down on your bed like there was no tomorrow, then your mom walks in your room with eyes that strongly suggested she was not in agreement at all with what you were doing? Then she says to you, “Stop jumping on your bed!” Remember that? Well I do. And it turns out, she just wasn’t concerned about your safety. It’s also to prolong your bed’s lifespan – providing for more nights when you dream your way into the wonderful land we call sleep.

What is a bed made for?

Well before we get all scientific, explaining to you the inner workings of your mattress, let’s speak common sense. What’s a bed made for? Sleeping. Great answer! And what does your body do when you’re asleep? Sometimes we twist and sometimes we turn, but most often, your body is lying down. When you jump on your mattress, you’re making your mattress do what it’s not made to do. Yep, you got it. It’s not a trampoline.

Now, what DOES go on inside your mattress? Well it depends. Some mattresses are made of foam, some made of latex, some have water inside them, some are air mattresses, and in Japan, they’re futons. But the most common one is called an innerspring mattress. Let me explain to you why jumping on them is a no-no. Put on your imagination cap right now, because there will be quite a demonstration. Let’s make it an equation to make things simple. Let’s start with a type of mattress and then add, let’s say 100 jumps every night.

Foam Mattress + 100 jumps every night

= Imagine Spongebob ran over by a hydraulic rolling pin. Well it lasts a bit longer because foam goes back to its original shape. But eventually… Yeah, you get the picture. The same thing is true for latex mattresses because they pretty much work the same way. They can last well around 10 years, but if you keep jumping on it, you’ve taken half of its lifespan out.

Water Mattress + 100 jumps every night

= Imagine Seaworld in your room. Yes, it’s gonna leak if you keep jumping and you asked for it. A waterbed may last many years given that those years aren’t spent as a trampoline. Jumping on it so often will produce so many leaks that there will be more patches than the number of years it has left to serve you.

Air Mattress + 100 jumps every night

= Imagine sleeping on a blanket. And that’s pretty much it the air would have escaped from the holes brought on by your jumping. What once had been an air mattress now has as much use as a deflated balloon.

Japanese Futon Mattress + 100 jumps every night

= Why are you jumping on a futon mattress? It makes no difference than jumping on a thick comforter that’s placed on the floor. You’re just compressing the cotton inside it, flattening it like a crepe. And who wants to sleep on a crepe?! You would have enjoyed your futon for years until it’s simply not comfortable anymore. But if you jump on it, you’re just taking years out of its lifespan.

Innerspring Mattress + 100 jumps every night

= Springs that don’t spring back. From what you can get from the name, an innerspring mattress works by having hundreds of springs inside it push upward against your body when you sleep. But when you jump on it, the springs strain, and your next sleep might not be as comfortable as before. Those springs last 7-9 years, depending on the mattress’ quality, but again, those 7-9 years are not years spent as a trampoline.